Best Guideline for UK University Application Process

• Searching universities: Start by looking at the universities with higher rankings and coming down the road. Now, list universities and see the university websites for admission requirements.
  
• Shortlisting Programs: See what programs are offered by your desired universities, consider their deadlines, documents required, and admission criteria of those programs. UK university course selection becomes easier.
• Attend Education Fairs: The International Admission Service has connections with top universities and organizes many educational events where university officials in the UK university course search and offer on-spot admissions.

Check UK University Application Deadlines

If you have shortlisted your intended programs, it’s time to consider university application deadlines. The UK university application deadlines mainly depend on the program and intake chosen. However, the UCAS deadlines for UK university applications for 2025 are:

The deadlines for university applications also depend on what degree type you choose to apply (i.e. Bachelor's or Master's program) and its programs. Hence, the best source to verify the application deadlines for undergraduate programs is through UCAS and for postgraduate programs on the university's official website.

Collect Essential Documents 

Soon after assessing the university deadlines, you should start collecting, preparing and organizing documents for university admission and visa application. It is one of the most essential steps to apply for university admission. 

As an international student, you need to collect many mandatory and supporting documents before applying to the university. The most essentially required documents for the UK admission are:

• A Valid Passport: Valid for over 6 months after degree completion and one blank page.
• Photocopies of Passport (First and last pages of your passport)
• Two Passport-Sized Photographs: Recently taken with a white background.
• Previous Academic Transcripts: Original and attested copies of previous certificates and degrees.
• English Language Proficiency test scores: IELTS, TOEFL, PTE, Duolingo, etc.
• CV/Resume (if applicable for specific programs)
• MOI Letter (if required for language test score exemption)
• Personal Statement: Stating your motivations and how studying abroad will shape your career.
• Statement of Purpose: Stating why a certain program or course aligns with your academic profile and adds value to it. 

Apply For The Course

The process to apply to UK university admission is easier than ever before. You can apply to the universities soon after preparing the required academic transcripts, language test scores, standardized test scores, and other relevant documents mentioned in the previous heading.  

International students from many countries are generally encouraged to apply their university admission for undergraduate courses through UCAS, which is the more conventional way and requires you:

• Create an account.
• Pay application fees.
• Submit your university application. 

With this path, you can easily apply to multiple universities at once without preparing documents separately. Besides this, you can also apply directly to the universities but with limited options. Most universities only accept direct admission applications for: 

• International students applying for graduate/postgraduate and doctoral programs.
• International students who missed their admission deadlines for the undergraduate program.
• Certain programs require you to apply directly.
• Transferring degree courses from one university to another.

Receive Offer Letter 

Receiving an offer letter (or acceptance letter) is one of the most crucial steps of university admission. It is an official document to demonstrate that the university has selected you. 

You receive offer letters after submitting admission applications to your chosen UK universities. Offer letters are of two types: conditional offer letters and unconditional offer letters.

An offer letter for a UK study visa states information about the courses you have enrolled in, the payment understanding, such as the first installment, and any additional contracts, such as those opting for on-campus accommodation provided by the institution. 

You can expect to receive an offer letter in 2-3 weeks for undergraduate programs, and 8-12 weeks for graduate programs. However, if you have applied for a PhD, it can take up to 2 months for universities in the UK to issue an offer letter.

International students can apply for a conditional UK student visa in specific situations. A conditional offer letter from a UK university is necessary to be eligible for this. However, it is important to consider conditions set by the university must still be met before traveling to the UK.

Pay First Installment

International students must confirm their enrollment by paying the first instalment of tuition fees after accepting an offer letter from the university. Paying tuition fees in the UK for international students is the most critical step in admission.

You can either pay the total tuition fees or pay one-third and pay the remaining in instalments through the following methods:

• Direct Debit: You can pay the first installment of tuition fees using your debit card on the university portal.
• Credit Card: Using the university portal, you can also use a credit card to pay tuition fees.
• International Bank transfer: If you don’t have a bank account, you can also pay tuition fees through bank transfer.

Full-time students who are enrolled in full-time programs are required to make three installments for their tuition fees. Universities ask undergraduate students to pay 50% of fees as a first installment and postgraduate students to pay 30% as the first installment.

Letter of Acceptance 

A letter of acceptance for UK is a confirmation letter from your university stating your acceptance into a certain degree program. The acceptance letters are proof that your university admission application was considered and that you were selected for the applied course. 

It also demonstrates your:

• Admission status.
• Course details.
• Meeting conditions to confirm enrollment. 

The educational institutions in the UK send individual acceptance letters to their students who have been granted admission into the university or school. As an international student, you should formally respond back to the university admission board, explaining your intent and showing gratitude for enrollment.

As an international student, receiving more acceptance letters from intended universities is considered a great achievement. However, it takes 2-4 weeks to get an acceptance letter from a UK university. Here’s how long it takes to process acceptance letters:

• For Conditional Offer Letters, the processing time can be 14-21 days. 
• For Unconditional Offer Letters, the processing time can be 7-21 days. 
• For PhD Offer Letters, the processing time is 14-42 days.

Apply For a UK Student Visa 

As an international student, applying for a UK student visa begins with receiving and accepting an acceptance letter from the university. You can start the visa process by preparing all mandatory and supporting documents, such as a valid passport, proof of financial support, and other relevant documents.

The UK student visa processing time standard is 20-21 days and 1 week when you pay additionally. However, you can pay an extra fee to get a visa decision within 24 hours of applying.

Besides this, you must showcase your or your parent’s bank balance as proof of financial evidence. For a UK student visa, you must have a minimum of £1,334 per month for the study duration in your account if studying within London and £1,023 outside of London.

As a Bangladeshi student, you must appear for an in-person interview by the visa immigration authorities. The visa officer generally interviews visa applicants about their personal life, academic standing, and financial resources to see if the applicant is genuinely eligible to study in the UK.

Fly To Start Your Journey

After getting a visa approval, Bangladeshi students are eager to travel to the United Kingdom immediately. Many students buy tickets at higher rates to fly soon to their dream country. We can help you get tickets to the UK at a discounted price. 

The flight ticket can cost you around $600-$700 (approx. 80,000 BDT to 93,000 BDT) for a one-way ticket. But, the ticket pricing may change depending on your airline, ticket class, time of year, and local inflation. 

We recommend our students to be flexible when choosing budget airlines and travel on weekdays instead of weekends. The most affordable months to travel from Dhaka (DAC) to London (LON) are January, February, and November.

The direct flight from Dhaka (DAC) to London (London) can be 13 hours and 35 minutes long. However, only limited airlines take direct flights from Dhaka to London. The fastest way to reach London is by connecting through Qatar or Dubai.